


A little help.

by Faraheim



Series: Tumblr words [13]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Fun, Hijinks & Shenanigans, M/M, Meddling Kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-07 23:50:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18883819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faraheim/pseuds/Faraheim
Summary: A letter that should not be sent gets sent, but not before everyone else reads it.Max, you should run.





	A little help.

**Author's Note:**

> continuation from [this post that stabbed me in the heart.](https://spacebabehargrove.tumblr.com/post/183800481705/by-the-fifth-punch-billy-wasnt-seeing-straight)

Max skates back home in her new board. The one that’s cool and she knows was hidden in Billy’s trunk for weeks.

Neil is screaming at Billy again and the house shakes from the force he uses to push Billy around, the light flickers. She leaves the paper bags with the stuff her mom made her go buy last minute after dinner by the door and goes to practice her flip tricks.

Max loses track of the time and stays until her legs are tired and her mom is sitting there looking at her. Like they didn’t just escape what goes in the house. Like they didn’t pretend to go senseless. “Hi mom!” she says “I bought the stuff.”

“I know, sweetie. You’re better at your ollies!” Max flares her nostrils playing at being mad.

“It’s a flip! A  _flip_ \- not everything is an ollie  _mom.”_ her mom chuckles and continues to wring her hands over her apron _._ Max grabs the bags “are you coming in?” her mom hums.

“I think I should stay a bit more. It’s nice outside.”

Max squints at her. It’s getting nicer but Indiana isn’t California. She shrugs and makes her way inside. She leaves the bags in the counter and puts away what needs to be in the freezer. Her mom’s bedroom is closed no doubt with Neil inside.

Billy’s door is open, he’s laying on his bed sleeping but his lamp is on and Max already sees it in her mind's eye what’ll happen if Neil finds it like that. She carefully steps into the room to switch it. There’s a sheet of paper folded on the floor so she picks it up and places it on the bedside table. She’s gonna flip the switch when she notices the paper says,  _Steve_.

She shouldn’t look. Max looks back at Billy but he’s lightly snoring. Her fingers itch. Why would Steve write to Billy?

Billy moves and she panics. By the time she’s in her room Billy’s light is off, the letter is in her hand her heart is beating too fast.

She lays on her bed after brushing her teeth and debating what to do with the letter.

She can’t sleep.

Steve wouldn’t mind if she read his letter. What would he even write to Billy about? Sometimes he says hi to Billy when they cross paths at the Wheeler’s but writing to him? That’s weird.

Max throws her covers and searches for the letter. She finds her flashlight and with the letter in hand, she gets under the covers again.

-

The next morning on their way to school “Why are your eyes so red?” Billy asks not looking at her. “Your boyfriend, dump you?”

Max looks at his profile. “No, I just know someone really,  _really_  stupid.” she sniffs and tries not to cry again.

“Wow okay someone is a lady already?”

Max turns red “oh my god!! Don’t talk to me ever again!!”

-

In the end, she has the letter crammed in the bottom of her backpack for less than a week when the chance presents itself. She doesn’t see Steve that often outside of the weekend and she doesn’t trust Dustin. But she can give him the letter in AV club and he has no time to read it before giving it to Steve.

“Listen, you can’t read the letter.” Dustin stops arguing for a second.

“Why would you say that! I wasn’t gonna and now I risk everything.” he raises his arms like a crazy person. “Is this a Lucas thing? I promise he likes you. You don’t have to involve Steve. Besides you’re not his type.” Max pushes him.

“No! It’s not like that! At all!” god, helping Billy is the worst. “I just need you to give him this. Or put it on his car it’s not from me. So YOU BETTER NOT TELL ANYONE and don’t read it! or your death will be painful. That’s not a warning that’s a fact, stalker boy.”

-

Mom knocks on her door. “Sweetie! Will is on the phone. Come quick!”

Max makes a face, brow in a frown. It’s Saturday morning and Will has never called her.

“Hi?” she says.

“Hi! Max, uh Hi!” Max looks at the receiver then puts it on her ear again. “What’s wrong?” she covers her mouth and whispers “is it the- you know what?”

Will stays silent “no?!”

“Okay?” she draws out.

“We might have… read the letter… A bit”

It takes a second for the information to sink in “YOU DID WHAT??!” she wants to grab her hair and pull until the world makes sense. YOU CAN’T EVER TRUST BOYS! “I TOLD DUSTIN TO NOT-” she lowers her voice “r-e-a-d it!”

“I think your brother knows how to spell.” Will cuts in.

“THAT’S NOT THE POINT! Who read the thing?”

More silence. Then she hears background whispering and she knows everyone is there.

“We all did” it’s Lucas now on the phone.

The line makes a sound like it’s being passed around. “We can help.” says El.

“Yeah! That was the point!! Put Henderson on the line.” El says that back and Dustin cries out  _are you kidding? She’s gonna kill me!_  And then Mike’s voice dripping in sarcasm  _wow yeah she’s totally gonna reach in through the phone and strangle you._  Max really wishes she could. “Just give him the phone.”

Dustin breathes “OKAY! We can still fix this!”

Max puts her best Billy voice and says “you give the letter to Steve or I’m gonna shove my board so far up your butt your esophagus is gonna learn how to heelflip. You got it?”

Dustin gulps “that’s kinda graphic-”

“Do you understand Henderson?”

“Yes, ma'am!”

“Okay go.”

“What? Now? I didn’t have breakfast!”

“You’re at Will’s? Fantastic that’s closer. Don’t hide when I get th-”

Dustin curses “shit, shit,  _shit_. Okay, I’m going do not come here. I repeat don’t come over.” then the line cuts off.

-

She doesn’t get an update ‘til late at night when Steve calls. She almost swallows her tongue. It’s crazy! Her heart goes fast and she’s excited. This is like a movie! And she helped so now Billy can stop being a headcase. It’s perfect. Then she recalls that Billy is at a party and she curses him.

“Hello? Is this Billy Hargrove’s house?” Steve says politely.

Max has a stroke “Stev- Hi oh. Ah, I’m Max. Steve!”

Steve laughs softly “Hi, Max. Is Billy there?”

She wants to kill Billy. This was his chance! “No. did you-” she scratches the back of her neck. Should she say something about the letter? Does he know she knows?

She stays quiet too long. “Read the letter that Billy didn’t want me to read and that half the world read? Yeah.”

“And?” she’s gonna die.

“I just really want to talk to him. Did you know where he’s-”

Max doesn’t let him finish “He’s at Rebecca’s party!”

“Ok, sure I can go there. I think.” he sounds unsure. Which is weird since Max saw him come at like a gazillion demodogs AND her crazy brother like it was nothing.

“You can do it, Steve! Go now! And call me after.”

“I am not calling- OH MY GOD” it’s what he says before hanging the phone.

-

Steve doesn’t call and she falls asleep waiting for Billy.

Her eyes open and a second later she’s jumping from her bed. She runs to Billy’s room and barges in. He’s on the bed hands covering his face. He drops them as soon as she makes her entrance by almost tripping over his heavy black boots.

"Did you see Steve?" Max ask hurried.

“He kissed me.” Billy says and he turns so red  _she_  turns red and she fucking loses it.

“Oh my god oh my god oh my god!  _He kissed him!_ ”

Billy covers his face again and he also says  _oh my god he kissed me!_ Then he gets real quiet _._ “Wait, how did you know?”

Max uses the advantage of her stepbrother laying in bed to escape. He’s not gonna like that everyone read the letter.

She runs.

**Author's Note:**

> Kinda making light of billy's letter but since it was the actions of a kid without malice on their part (she tries to help him. but it could have gone bad BUT SINCE IM WRITING IT IT DON'T MATTER) I tried to make it fun instead of sad you know?


End file.
